Boluwatife Kehinde
Arsenal maintained their position at the top of the Premier League with a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham in a tightly contested London derby at Craven Cottage.
Leandro Trossard scored the decisive goal early in the second half, finishing from close range after Gabriel flicked on Bukayo Saka’s corner. It marked Trossard’s third goal of the season and made him the Gunners’ 10th different Premier League scorer in this campaign.
The first half was largely uneventful, with Fulham creating the better chances early on. Raul Jimenez and Tom Cairney came close, while Riccardo thought he’d opened the scoring for Arsenal only to be denied by an offside flag. Declan Rice, Viktor Gyokeres, and Riccardo Calafiori all had attempts as Arsenal grew into the game.
Trossard missed a good chance shortly after the restart, but made up for it with the match-winner minutes later. Arsenal nearly had a penalty when Saka was brought down by Fulham’s Kevin, but a VAR review overturned the decision.
Despite late pressure from Fulham, including chances for Wilson and a strong effort from Gyokeres, Arsenal’s defence held firm for their eighth clean sheet in 11 games across all competitions.
Next up, Arsenal return to the Emirates for three consecutive home matches: Atletico Madrid (Champions League), Crystal Palace (Premier League), and Brighton (Carabao Cup).
Manchester City extends its unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions, following the 2-0 win over Everton at the Etihad.
Erling Haaland continued his red-hot form by scoring both goals for Manchester City in just five minutes, which now brings him to 23 goals and three assists in 13 matches.
Everton started brightly and nearly took the lead early, but Beto couldn’t convert Iliman Ndiaye’s pass. City struggled to create clear chances in the first half, with Haaland hitting the bar and Jordan Pickford denying Jérémy Doku.
City finally broke through just before the hour mark when Haaland headed in Nico O’Reilly’s cross, then successfully converted Savinho’s cutback.
Pickford prevented a heavier defeat with several late saves, but Everton’s winless run at the Etihad continues since 2010. The result puts City, unbeaten in their last 18 meetings with Everton, temporarily top of the Premier League.
Six-goal thriller ends all square
Bournemouth took home a point after a dramatic 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace in a Premier League classic at Selhurst Park.
The Cherries raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half, with 17-year-old Junior Kroupi scoring twice – a close-range header from a corner and a composed volley after a defensive error.
Palace responded strongly after the break. Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice in quick succession, both assisted by Daniel Muñoz, to draw the hosts level.
Late drama followed as substitute Ryan Christie looked to have won it for Bournemouth, finishing from close range after good work from Ben Gannon-Doak and Marcus Tavernier.
However, Palace were awarded a stoppage-time penalty after Bafode Diakite was judged to have fouled Marc Guehi. Mateta converted to seal his hat-trick and make it 3-3.
Mateta had a golden chance to win it moments later but fired over from close range.
